Over the last several hundred years, humankind has increased the volume of information existing in the world through books, newspapers, magazines, radio and television and has given itself real-time access to this information. Today, the mass media is undergoing dramatic changes with the emergence of the Internet and social media. These dynamic changes in the environment provide the mass media with an excellent opportunity to reinvent itself. It is my earnest hope that the mass media will continue to evolve through open and free competition with new media and that higher standards of journalism will be achieved through this process.

At school, we learned that the separation of three powers of government is “a technique to operate a country under law by separating legislative, executive and judicial branches, or, in other words, separating the establishment, enforcement and application of law, to mutually oversee each other.” The judicial branch is invested with two important functions. First, it is empowered to rule on the constitutionality of the laws enacted by the legislative branch. Second, with regard to the executive branch, it is empowered to try and rule on administrative cases brought before the courts. However, the public does not deeply trust and understand the functions of the judiciary. Efforts should be made to improve the public’s trust in the judicial branch as well as to engage the legislative branch.

In Japan, the best and brightest university students have always pursued jobs in government. With the risk of government easily becoming unstable, it is important for each bureaucrat to be reform-minded and work to ensure the stable functioning of the bureaucracy. Article 15 of the Constitution of Japan states: “All public officials are servants of the whole community.” It is hoped, more than ever, that bureaucrats with outstanding capabilities in policy administration will execute their duties from the standpoint of the public, with a sense of mission and high ambition.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Japanese politicians were slow in making decisions, failed to respond to the crisis, and showed a lack of communicative competence. The foreign media described this situation as one in which “a people of high civic standards is being led by incompetent leaders.” Our politicians, as those responsible for leading the nation, must now more than ever before (1) act based on a positive and bright vision for the future of Japan, (2) communicate effectively with persons both inside and outside the country, and (3) build a good and sound Japan. To do so, we expect them to perform the following tasks.

Japan has many things to be proud of: a highly sophisticated history and culture, legal systems that allow its people to enjoy freedom, strong social bonds (that were amply demonstrated after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and highly regarded internationally), technology and industry with high standards, and many others. It is a responsibility of our generation to maintain these advantages that have been passed down by our forbears, to address any issues, and in turn pass them on to future generations.